Report: Jay Cutler’s Contract Breakdown

CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 09: Quarterback Jay Cutler #6 of the Chicago Bears warms up before a preseason NFL game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on August 9, 2013 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Jay Cutler. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

(CBS) Now that the dust has settled, more information is beginning to leak out regarding Jay Cutler’s new, seven-year, $126.7 million deal.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio cites a source who said the deal will pay Cutler $54 million in guaranteed money over the first three years. After the first three years, it’s essentially four, one-year team option ‘pay-as-you-go’ deals.

The cap hits are a little surprising, if true.

Here’s the report from ProFootballTalk.com: “… Cutler will make $54 million over the next three years, with a rolling guarantee that starts at $17.5 million upon signing, increases to $38 million on March 14, 2014, moves to $48 million in March 2015, and caps out at $54 million in March 2016.

The deal contains no signing bonus, creating a pay-as-you-go series of cap charges for the Bears, based only on his base salaries.

In 2014, Cutler will earn a base salary of $22.5 million. In 2015, the base salary is $15.5 million. In 2016, it increases to $16 million.

After 2016, the deal becomes a year-to-year, no-cap-hit proposition, with salaries of $12.5 million in 2017, $13.5 million in 2018, $17.5 million in 2019, and $19.2 million in 2020. In each of those four seasons, Cutler earns $156,250 for each game he appears on the active roster, for a maximum additional earnings of $2.5 million per year and $10 million over four.

Thus, he’ll get the full $126.7 million only if he’s on the active roster for every game from 2017 through 2020.”